Ask a Recruiter: WHAT?!? You Like To Fish??

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This guest post is part of a new series Ask a Recruiter here on GenPink.

You like to fish…?? Thinks the HR person as the cursor hovers over the tiny red X at the top of the screen.

You were the perfect candidate…UNTIL…they scrolled to your hobbies section.

Listen, I get it…how were you supposed to know the HR person you sent your resume to (for THE perfect job) just so happened to be that state’s president of PETA and a Vegitarian. Fishing is not animal cruelty in your eyes, but in their eyes, it is a helpless animal swimming along and minding its business when some yahoo decides to put a hook in its mouth and ruin a perfectly good day!

Here’s my theory folks…why allow yourself to be DISQUALIFIED for a job, before you even show your pearly whites at the door?

As Barbara would say, Just Say No!!

I get it, you want to tell the world you love to fish, you are president of the PTA, you go to church every week or whatever else it is you find amusing.

Here’s the thing… We don’t care!!

Better yet, why not let them find out these things in the interview…

Here’s a great example: It’s like when your dating? Remember how women always say keep the men guessing…no?…ok, well that would explain why you’re single…kidding!!

Honestly, just like on a date, you want to keep your intervierwer guessing or probing for answers. If you walk in the door and recognize their accent is “not from around there” and you can spot that accent anywhere, since you were born in that same city!!! Use it!

But that is the time to use it! This is the time to talk about culture in Montana or New York. Go ahead…compare deli’s or fish stories.

It is unnecessary to put useless information on the resume, because you never know, you see it as a plus, but that Vegan, PETA state president may hate you for it, and may delete your resume, before you ever get a word in edgewise!

If you have a question (anonymous questions welcome) you’d like answered by Ms. Rockstar Recruiter fill out the form on the Ask a Recruiterannouncement post.

Author: Andrea Venezio

Since 2004, Andréa Venezio has been an executive recruiter for Kaye/Bassman Internation, the largest single-site search firm in the country. In 2005, Andrea was quoted in the Wall Street Journal for the article "To Snag a Job Offer, Learn What Damage You Do in Interviews." The article stated: "A Kaye/Bassman managing partner interviewed dot-com business manager Andrea Chamberlain (Venezio) last spring for a recruiter's spot. As their session concluded, he told the curious applicant that she was unqualified. She reiterated her strengths. "I may not have the recruiting experience you're looking for," Mrs. Chamberlain remembers saying. "But I have the energy, I'm motivated and I want to work for your company." Kaye/Bassman subsequently invited her to interview with a different managing partner. He hired her the day they met." Earlier this year, Andréa became the regional director for the Northeast Surgery Center division and has placed over 20 Ambulatory Surgery Center executives in 2010. "For me, recruiting is the greatest job in the world, because we impact people's career, by giving them better opportunities that improve their overall quality of life."

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